SANAA/TEHRAN/NEW YORK - Yemen's Houthi group said on Saturday that it had carried out fresh attacks on vital sites in southern Israel using cruise missiles and drones, marking its second claimed attack of the day amid escalating regional tensions.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on social media platform X that the operation was coordinated with Iran and Hezbollah and had "successfully achieved its objectives."

Sarea added that the attacks support what he called the "fronts of resistance" in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran.

"We confirm that our operations will continue in the coming days until the aggression stops," the spokesperson said.

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The group stressed that its military operations target solely against "the Israeli and American enemy," and expressed its readiness to engage with Arab and Islamic countries to prevent any misunderstandings.

Earlier Saturday, the group claimed a ballistic missile barrage on southern Israel, its first such attack since Israel and the United States started massive attacks on Iran on Feb 28.

On Thursday, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi reaffirmed the group's readiness for military action should regional developments warrant it, while reiterating strong ties with Iran.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday vowed that his country will retaliate "strongly" against any attack on its infrastructure and economic centers.

He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X, one day after Israel targeted Iran's industrial plants and nuclear facilities.

"We have said many times that Iran doesn't carry out preemptive attacks, but we will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted," Pezeshkian said.

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Addressing the countries in the West Asia region, he added, "If you want development and security, don't let our enemies carry out the war from your lands."

Israel on Friday evening attacked several Iranian industrial and atomic facilities, including two steel plants, one located in Isfahan province and the other in Khuzestan, a heavy water research reactor facility in Markazi province, and a yellowcake production plant in Yazd province.

The strikes came as US President Donald Trump set a 10-day deadline, ending on April 6, for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to target Iran's power plants if it does not comply. 

IRGC: US F-16 fighter jet, drone hit 

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Saturday its air defense has struck a US F-16 Fighting Falcon and an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the country's southern airspace.

Making the announcement in a statement on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the US fighter jet and drone were hit during joint retaliatory missile and drone operations by its Navy and Aerospace Division against heavy industries belonging to the United States and Israel.

It added that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has also confessed that its F-16 Fighting Falcon was targeted.

In a post on social media platform X, CENTCOM said, "A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon lands at a base in the Middle East after a combat flight in support of Operation Epic Fury."

The development came amid heightened tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a depot storing Ukrainian anti-drone defense systems in Dubai was destroyed in a missile strike by the IRGC, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday.

Tasnim quoted Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman of Iran's main military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, as saying that the depot was hit during joint missile operations by the IRGC's Navy and Aerospace Division, alongside attacks on US personnel in Dubai, which he said inflicted heavy casualties. Zolfaghari said 21 Ukrainians were in the warehouse at the time and that the systems were intended to assist US forces.

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Earlier Saturday, Iran struck a US Army support vessel near Oman's Salalah port, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Zolfaghari said Iran respects Omani sovereignty.

Ukraine denied the strike, calling it false. Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said, "This is a lie; we officially refute this information."

Meanwhile, Ukraine has agreed to new defense cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to both countries to sign security and defense agreements. The deals include sharing expertise on missiles and unmanned aerial systems.

Zelensky's visits to the UAE and Qatar came a day after he announced a defense agreement with Riyadh.

3,500 US marines, sailors arrive in Middle East

Also on Saturday, CENTCOM announced on Saturday that a task force of 3,500 marines and sailors arrived in the Middle East on Friday.

"US Sailors and Marines aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility, March 27," CENTCOM said in a brief post on social media platform X.

The America-class amphibious assault ship serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group / 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit composed of about 3,500 sailors and marines in addition to transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets, CENTCOM said in the post.

The arrival is part of a broader US military buildup tied to the ongoing war with Iran, with amphibious forces capable of conducting both sea-based strikes and ground operations, online news portal ynetnews.com reported on Saturday, adding such units are typically used for rapid deployments, including securing strategic locations, evacuations or potential assaults on coastal targets.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Pentagon was considering deploying up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give Trump more military options beyond diplomacy.

The force, likely to include infantry and armored vehicles, would be added to the roughly 5,000 Marines and thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division already ordered to the region, said the report, citing Department of Defense officials.

It was unclear exactly where the forces would be deployed in the Middle East, but they are expected to be within striking distance of Iran and its Kharg Island, a crucial oil export hub, the WSJ report added.

The developments follow Iran's retaliation to joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities on Feb 28, which killed Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior commanders, and civilians. Iran has since launched missile and drone attacks targeting US and Israeli assets across the Middle East.